Latest news with #CocoRobotics
Fast Company
15 hours ago
- Business
- Fast Company
Hungry Chicagoans can now get White Castle delivered by a robot
The next time you order a sack of White Castle sliders, a robot might come rolling up to you. The restaurant chain, a Midwestern fast-food staple, is partnering with Coco Robotics and Uber Eats to bring robotic delivery to the Chicago area. The partnership, announced today, will allow customers ordering from White Castle's first participating location to order directly from the Uber Eats app and receive a robotic delivery with no additional steps or fees. And in a dense urban area like Chicago, having more robots and fewer cars on the road could help ease traffic and emissions issues related to delivery. 'We're always open to what's new and what's next,' Jamie Richardson, White Castle's vice president of marketing, tells Fast Company. 'If there's a way to do something a little bit better, we want to find out what that is and try it.' A fast food innovator looks ahead For White Castle, which innovated the concept of a fast-food restaurant in 1921, this is the next step in a shift toward an autonomous experience. The chain first deployed Flippy, the robotic fry cook, to a Chicago restaurant in 2020 before expanding its use to over 100 locations. The restaurant chain considers these shifts toward new technology a reflection of its core value of 'continuous crave,' or continuous innovation, Richardson says. The robots used in the new partnership were developed by Coco Robotics, a last-mile delivery startup that was named one of Fast Company 's most innovative robotics companies in 2022. More recently, it announced significant venture capital funding and partnerships with large companies like OpenAI, Uber Eats, and DoorDash. Part of the force propelling Coco's little red robots is their capacity for moving large amounts of goods while keeping costs low and carbon emissions at zero. They accomplish it with a 100-pound vehicle that uses artificial intelligence —and remote human operators—to drive safely over unpredictable city terrain. 'We built these purpose-built autonomous vehicles that are designed to be the best way to move goods around a city,' Zach Rash, Coco Robotics cofounder and CEO, tells Fast Company. 'They're lightweight, they're compact, they're super energy efficient, and they're big enough to fit six extra large pizzas and two liter bottle sodas and four grocery bags—most of the types of things you would get delivered on demand.' Bots and the city First launched in Santa Monica, California, the robots are now in several cities around the world, as far afield as Helsinki. The robots work best where there is a 'vibrant local economy of delivery,' Rash says, but where congestion or other barriers add cost and hassle to traditional delivery. advertisement Chicago, in particular, fits the bill because it is a dense city where difficult winters can drive disparity between demand for delivery and supply of available drivers, Rash says, adding that they've been successful in the Chicago market so far and are looking forward to launching the robots in new cities with similar characteristics later this year. For Uber Eats, also looking to expand its autonomous services and its reach in the Midwest market, the new partnership with White Castle offers an important opportunity. Fast Company. The robots, which started picking up burgers in Chicago a couple weeks ahead of the partnership's official launch, are already finding success in what Richardson considers White Castle's 'second home town.'
Los Angeles Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
We may not have flying cars, but more food delivery bots are coming to L.A.
The robot invasion is coming to your neighborhood. Coco Robotics, a startup born on the UCLA campus, is about to carpet-bomb the city with hundreds of additional adorable delivery bots recently enhanced with some of the same AI that powers ChatGPT. The company has been testing bots around the city for years, and it is at last confident enough in its technology that it plans to grow tenfold in the coming year, adding 9,000 bots to its current fleet of around 1,000 across the country. Residents of Silver Lake — one of the neighborhoods most recently occupied by delivery bots from Coco and others — give the rolling bots mixed reviews so far. This spring, Coco deployed around 10 food delivery robots to serve the neighborhood's restaurants and residents. The pink, rounded machines represent the latest expansion for a company that started as a dorm room project at UCLA in 2020 and now operates hundreds of robots from Santa Monica to downtown. Silver Lake residents and retailers say their new neighbors are amusing and sometimes annoying. On one of Silver Lake's many hillside streets, a robot delivering a burger from the Window took an unexpected route. Instead of following the most direct path, it turned up a steep hill and tried to climb some stairs before getting stuck. The machine sat motionless while somewhere a customer waited for lunch that would never arrive. 'The robot would've just stayed there forever if I did not cancel,' a former Silver Lake resident said in an interview on Reddit describing how a five-minute delivery turned into a comedy of errors. 'I went without lunch.' Coco chooses neighborhoods based on density, prioritizing areas with restaurants clustered together and short delivery distances as well as places where parking is difficult. 'We wanted to create this vehicle that's very enjoyable for the merchants to use,' said Zach Rash, Coco's co-founder. 'It can deliver a lot of their orders without making our cities more congested, without taking up parking spaces or adding more cars to the road.' He wouldn't share which neighborhoods will be next but asked that people be patient with the bots. They get lost and stuck more often in places they are still getting to know, Rash said. 'With new neighborhoods, that's going to happen more often than our more mature neighborhoods, because we're still finding all the details of the area,' he said. Benjamin Attwell remembers the morning it began. He was working at MidEast Tacos, an Armenian-Mexican fusion restaurant, when six robots were unloaded from a truck on the corner of Maltman Avenue and Sunset Boulevard. He found them fascinating and endearing. He even made TikTok videos of them with music. 'I think it's actually quite a nice addition' to the neighborhood, he said. 'Makes me feel like we're living in the future.' The robots are designed to inspire affection. With their rounded edges and compact bodies, they navigate the neighborhood like cyber pets, stopping for pedestrians and maneuvering around obstacles. The neighborhood has already adopted them like local mascots, Attwell said. 'People kind of treat them almost like their dogs,' he said. 'Kids really like them.' Attwell has his own way to bond with the bots. 'I always pat them on the head for some reason,' he said. 'I don't know why, but I find them adorable.' Kreation Organic, a health-focused cafe that started using Coco robots in April, said they have been good for business. Senior operations manager Jefferson Noe Ortiz said robot deliveries have increased sales as families are drawn to the novelty. The restaurant handles about five robot deliveries per day. Ortiz expects that number to rise. The bots are more polite than the delivery drivers Ortiz deals with daily. 'DoorDash drivers and delivery drivers are sometimes knuckleheads' and tough to deal with, he said. 'The robot is convenient, it doesn't talk back or anything.' Bob Timmermann, a retired librarian, used a robot to send doughnuts to his former colleagues at the Los Angeles Central Library. The process was straightforward: Order through Uber Eats, watch the robot's progress on the app, then unlock the cargo compartment with a phone code when it arrived. 'It was probably easier in the morning commute time to use a robot than a car or scooter,' Timmermann said. Not every delivery goes smoothly. One Silver Lake restaurant worker recalled seeing the robots 'glitching out in intersections,' causing traffic and rolling off curbs, falling over on their sides. 'The future is a lot dumber than I thought it would be,' the worker said. Some people in the neighborhood see the bots as unfair competition. Food delivery driver Julia Roggiero works mostly in West Hollywood and Silver Lake and says she has already noticed an impact. She used to get five or six delivery requests an hour. 'Now, even when I'm in these areas like Santa Monica or Venice, it takes me an hour to get one or two, maximum three,' she said. Roggiero has responded by diversifying into Lyft rides, but the shift represents a broader trend that worries gig economy workers. 'They do deliveries that we can do, so they are taking our income,' she said. Rash says robots aren't necessarily displacing human drivers. 'We have way more demand than we can handle right now,' he said. 'The delivery market is enormous.' Rash says the bots focus on the shortest trips while leaving longer, more lucrative deliveries to human drivers. Coco operates more than 1,000 robots across multiple cities, spanning from Santa Monica and Venice through West L.A., Westwood, Mid-City, West Hollywood, Hollywood, Echo Park, Silver Lake, downtown, Koreatown and the USC area. With more than half a million deliveries completed and millions of miles driven, Coco is targeting 10,000 robots in production next year, a number Rash says would be 'probably five to 10 times bigger than any other autonomous vehicle fleet.' 'We are the cheapest way to deliver anything in a city today, and we can do that profitably,' Rash said. The company makes money through platforms such as Uber Eats for completing orders, direct payments from merchants for deliveries, and leasing parts of the fleet to restaurants and advertising services. But the economic concerns remain real for workers. Eric Ernst, an occasional Instacart delivery driver, says he doesn't want his food delivered by a robot because it has to be taking work away from a human. 'It's neat, you know, it's cool. This is like 'The Jetsons,'' he said. 'But, you know, that's a cartoon.'
Los Angeles Times
08-07-2025
- Automotive
- Los Angeles Times
Coco Robotics Raises $80-Million Series B Round for Autonomous Vehicles
Venice Beach-based Coco Robotics, an urban delivery startup that delivers food and packages using small autonomous robots, secured $80 million from OpenAI founder Sam Altman and other investors. The financing round was led by venture capital firm SNR, with participation from Pelion Venture Partners, Offline Ventures and Max Altman, Sam's brother. The company has now raised more than $110 million since its inception in 2020. Coco Robotics, which recently relocated from Santa Monica to Venice Beach, currently has a fleet of about 1,300 cooler-sized electric robots operating across cities that include Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago and Helsinki. The company's delivery system is integrated into logistics platforms from Uber Technologies Inc. and DoorDash Inc. The company's electric vehicles are human-operated. They have made 500,000 deliveries and traveled more than 1 million miles. Information for this article was sourced from Coco Robotics.
Auto Blog
23-06-2025
- Automotive
- Auto Blog
How Autonomous Robots Put a New Spin on the XPEL Indycar Race
Self-driving tech makes an appearance at the XPEL Grand Prix XPEL, a global leader in paint protection film, window tint, and ceramic coating, is appearing at this weekend's IndyCar race at Road America beyond its event sponsorship. The surface protection company's solutions primarily serve the automotive industry, but they've also partnered with Coco Robotics, which uses autonomous delivery robots called robocouriers to deliver restaurant and convenience items around the clock in all weather across LA, Chicago, and Miami. Previous Pause Next Unmute 0:00 / 0:10 Thinking about buying a Toyota RAV4? These 5 rivals might change your mind Watch More To highlight the partnership, the companies have brought a couple of XPEL-protected Coco robots in Scott McLaughlin's XPEL IndyCar livery to the XPEL Grand Prix IndyCar race at Road America this weekend. The Coco robocouriers will interact with fans and deliver XPEL giveaways. IndyCar Series driver Scott McLaughlin has pre-recorded several lines that the Coco robocouriers or Coco robots will play when making deliveries. Coco robots at Road America — Source: Coco Robotics How Coco robots function at Road America and beyond In the spirit of grand prix weekend, Coco robots were filmed racing each other from the track's finish line, while another clip showed an autonomous courier pulling up to attendees and popping its top to reveal complimentary merchandise like sunglasses, foam racing helmets, and hats. According to the manufacturer, a single parking space can fit 20 Coco robots, and each unit has 90 liters of storage space with a weatherproof compartment, enough to carry four full grocery bags or six XL pizzas. On sidewalks, Cocos travel at walking speeds up to 5 mph, and in select markets (or the Road America race track), they can travel up to 15 mph using bike lanes and roads as needed. Each Coco robot can move up to 20.5 miles per charge in extreme heat or cold, weighs 100 lbs, and links with remote human operators for optimal safety. The delivery solution's AI self-driving tech combines front, rear, left, and right cameras to register visual details like signs and lane markings, while LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) provides accurate depth sensing. This combination creates a 3D view of an environment for full 360-degree perception. Autoblog Newsletter Autoblog brings you car news; expert reviews and exciting pictures and video. Research and compare vehicles, too. Sign up or sign in with Google Facebook Microsoft Apple By signing up I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . You may unsubscribe from email communication at anytime. While XPEL didn't specify the exact coatings used on Coco robots at Road America, XPEL's primary automotive products are protection film, window film, and ceramic coating. Coco robots are windowless, so XPEL's automotive protection film would help maintain the self-driving couriers' high-impact areas, while ceramic coating protects against elements like UV ray exposure and road grime during race weekend. A Coco Robot delivering merchandise to fans at Road America — Source: Coco Robotics Final thoughts From Tesla's upcoming robotaxi launch to autonomous robot couriers at race events, self-driving tech is becoming increasingly prevalent, and XPEL's partnership with Coco Robots shows how these mini vehicles benefit from products like protection film and ceramic coating, similar to traditional cars. Additionally, Coco Robotics has designed its autonomous delivery unit to function in extremely high and low temperatures, reflecting how self-driving tech is expanding from states like California into environments like Chicago with harsher weather. Last week, Coco Robotics announced it raised $80 million for manufacturing its last-mile delivery robots from a mix of undisclosed funding events spanning from 2021 to 2025, according to TechCrunch. About the Author Cody Carlson View Profile
Miami Herald
23-06-2025
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
How Autonomous Robots Put a New Spin on the XPEL Indycar Race
XPEL, a global leader in paint protection film, window tint, and ceramic coating, is appearing at this weekend's IndyCar race at Road America beyond its event sponsorship. The surface protection company's solutions primarily serve the automotive industry, but they've also partnered with Coco Robotics, which uses autonomous delivery robots called robocouriers to deliver restaurant and convenience items around the clock in all weather across LA, Chicago, and Miami. To highlight the partnership, the companies have brought a couple of XPEL-protected Coco robots in Scott McLaughlin's XPEL IndyCar livery to the XPEL Grand Prix IndyCar race at Road America this weekend. The Coco robocouriers will interact with fans and deliver XPEL giveaways. IndyCar Series driver Scott McLaughlin has pre-recorded several lines that the Coco robocouriers or Coco robots will play when making deliveries. In the spirit of grand prix weekend, Coco robots were filmed racing each other from the track's finish line, while another clip showed an autonomous courier pulling up to attendees and popping its top to reveal complimentary merchandise like sunglasses, foam racing helmets, and hats. According to the manufacturer, a single parking space can fit 20 Coco robots, and each unit has 90 liters of storage space with a weatherproof compartment, enough to carry four full grocery bags or six XL pizzas. On sidewalks, Cocos travel at walking speeds up to 5 mph, and in select markets (or the Road America race track), they can travel up to 15 mph using bike lanes and roads as needed. Each Coco robot can move up to 20.5 miles per charge in extreme heat or cold, weighs 100 lbs, and links with remote human operators for optimal safety. The delivery solution's AI self-driving tech combines front, rear, left, and right cameras to register visual details like signs and lane markings, while LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) provides accurate depth sensing. This combination creates a 3D view of an environment for full 360-degree perception. While XPEL didn't specify the exact coatings used on Coco robots at Road America, XPEL's primary automotive products are protection film, window film, and ceramic coating. Coco robots are windowless, so XPEL's automotive protection film would help maintain the self-driving couriers' high-impact areas, while ceramic coating protects against elements like UV ray exposure and road grime during race weekend. From Tesla's upcoming robotaxi launch to autonomous robot couriers at race events, self-driving tech is becoming increasingly prevalent, and XPEL's partnership with Coco Robots shows how these mini vehicles benefit from products like protection film and ceramic coating, similar to traditional cars. Additionally, Coco Robotics has designed its autonomous delivery unit to function in extremely high and low temperatures, reflecting how self-driving tech is expanding from states like California into environments like Chicago with harsher weather. Last week, Coco Robotics announced it raised $80 million for manufacturing its last-mile delivery robots from a mix of undisclosed funding events spanning from 2021 to 2025, according to TechCrunch. Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
